Never exhaust your dreams

Published: Thursday, August 15, 2013 at 03:37 PM.

In the second half of the 1940s, Preston Tucker took on the Big Three U.S. automobile manufacturers with his ’48 Tucker Sedan.

Tucker is one of Fields Ketteman’s idols. You’ll see why in a minute.

After developing prototypes of combat vehicles and a gun turret — used during World War II on PT boats, landing craft and B-17 and B-29 bombers — Tucker then set his sights to mass production of a sedan for post-war American families.

Tucker put together seed money and bought a production facility in Chicago. He designed prototypes of his sedan, a sleek ride that in some ways resembled a torpedo. But Tucker was later embroiled in a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation and then charges that he never intended to produce a car, only to rip off investors and hopeful dealers. He was acquitted on all the charges but his dream was never realized.

Fields Ketteman, a 21-year-old student in the automotive systems program at Alamance Community College, wants to design vehicles and own his own car company. Maybe in competition with the big boys of American automobile manufacturing. He’s working on a design in a drafting class at ACC.

Fields was surprised, he says, when he saw advertisements for a new vehicle to be released in the United States — the Chevrolet SS. Fields says the car is the spitting image of a design he pitched to General Motors through the company’s web site.

A 6.2 liter V8 engine with 415 horsepower that would go 0 to 60 in five seconds. Sport suspension. Dual exhaust. Alloy wheels.

In the second half of the 1940s, Preston Tucker took on the Big Three U.S. automobile manufacturers with his ’48 Tucker Sedan.

Tucker is one of Fields Ketteman’s idols. You’ll see why in a minute.

After developing prototypes of combat vehicles and a gun turret — used during World War II on PT boats, landing craft and B-17 and B-29 bombers — Tucker then set his sights to mass production of a sedan for post-war American families.

Tucker put together seed money and bought a production facility in Chicago. He designed prototypes of his sedan, a sleek ride that in some ways resembled a torpedo. But Tucker was later embroiled in a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation and then charges that he never intended to produce a car, only to rip off investors and hopeful dealers. He was acquitted on all the charges but his dream was never realized.

Fields Ketteman, a 21-year-old student in the automotive systems program at Alamance Community College, wants to design vehicles and own his own car company. Maybe in competition with the big boys of American automobile manufacturing. He’s working on a design in a drafting class at ACC.

Fields was surprised, he says, when he saw advertisements for a new vehicle to be released in the United States — the Chevrolet SS. Fields says the car is the spitting image of a design he pitched to General Motors through the company’s web site.

A 6.2 liter V8 engine with 415 horsepower that would go 0 to 60 in five seconds. Sport suspension. Dual exhaust. Alloy wheels.

Sporty. Aerodynamic. Aggressive.

So when Fields saw advertising for this new vehicle, he says he contacted General Motors. He says a customer service representative for the company told him on the telephone in June that the car was, in fact, based in some part on his idea. But so far, the company has offered no credit to the young car fan.

In an email, a press contact with the company told me “it is not possible that the idea submission that Fields Ketteman made influenced the design/development of the Chevrolet SS.

“The Chevrolet SS is actually based on a vehicle that GM sells in Australia called the Holden Commodore. The design and engineering of the car was done entirely in Australia and has been in the works for several years.

“GM also sold a similar vehicle through the Pontiac brand — the G8 — in 2008-2009 so it is not a new concept for the company.”

Fields isn’t buying it, telling me that the SS doesn’t even look like the Commodore.

I have no idea whether Fields is telling the truth or not. He doesn’t have a recording of the conversation he says he had with a GM representative and General Motors wouldn’t release a recording or transcript of any call to me.

The submission page, at www.gmideas.com, states clearly that by pressing “submit,” you surrender all copyright claims and will not be compensated by GM in any way for your anonymous ideas. Fields understands that. I think he just wants a little credit.

My knowledge and interest in cars is limited to whether the one I need to get me someplace works. So I’m not even able to form an opinion about whether the car Fields has in his head and described to me resembles the SS.

But I do have opinions about people with dreams: Don’t take them too lightly.

City editor Brent Lancaster can be reached at blancaster@thetimesnews.com or 336-506-3040. Follow him at twitter.com/tnbrentl.